Starting around the 216lb range...how much weight or how long should I expect it to take to get below the 180 range?

it depends on how bad u want it...none of us can tell u how long it will take...it varies...it could take u 3 months...it could take u a year...r u willing to work hard for it??? r u willing to eat an apple slice instead of a slice of cake...r u willing to exercise for 45 minutes instead of 2 minutes??? if ur willing to change ur exercise habits and eating habits...i would image not that long.....

Here's the thing. one pound of fat takes 3500 calories to burn. If you want to burn off 36 pounds, you need a deficit of 126,000 calories in your diet. If you are sedentary, multiply your weight times 12 and that's how many calories you can eat per day to stay the same weight. Now if you went on a 1200 calorie a day diet instead, you would have a deficit of calories every day. (As your weight goes down, the amount of calories it takes to maintain your weight goes down too). I did some rough calculations and on a 1200cal a day diet, being sedentary, it would take you about 14.5 weeks to lose 36 pounds. Want to lose it faster? Add in the exercise...

Hope this helps,